NLBMDA calls for green lumber standard

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The National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association (NLBMDA) is seeking to simplify chain-of-custody issues for its members through a new grade stamp on eco-friendly lumber.

Through its affiliated group, the LBM Institute, association members have asked the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) to adopt an eco-forest management standard, accredit agencies to certify the standard and establish a grade stamp similar to other designations for dryness, size and species.

The request was submitted to the ALSC on Jan. 4. A spokesperson for ALSC, an independent agency that oversees the accreditation of softwood and pressure-treated lumber, told Home Channel News that the proposal is under review and will be discussed at an upcoming meeting.

If adopted, the new grade would identify each piece of lumber that is milled from ecologically managed forests. Lumberyard dealers would no longer have to keep the lumber physically separate all the way to the job site; nor would they need to maintain proof of certification and other paper documentation to prove its eco-lineage. These practices, currently required by some green building designations, add costs to the building supply channel, particularly at the builder and retailer end, according to the proposal.

The LBM Institute is the research and education arm of the NLBMDA, a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization that represents more than 8,000 lumber and building material distributors across the country.